Talk about heartbreak. Bernard Lagat became the oldest American to ever run for the U.S. Olympic team earlier this week when he participated in round one of the 5,000-meter race. On Saturday, the 41-year-old bested that accomplishment, becoming the oldest U.S. runner to ever medal in an Olympic final during the penultimate day of Rio competition. Or so he thought.
Lagat didn’t appear to medal at first during the 5,000-meter final when he finished in 13:06.78, about three seconds behind the winner, Mohamed Farah of the United Kingdom, who finished in 13:03.30. But because of disqualifications, Lagat jumped up into third after the race to snag the bronze medal. Then, his disqualified teammate, Paul Chelimo, who had crossed the finish line second, successfully appealed his disqualification. This pushed Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwhet into the bronze medal spot, and pushed Lagat off the podium.
“I don’t really know what happened but I am happy to be back in it and I’m happy to call myself the 5000m Olympic silver medallist,” Chelimo said after the final results were confirmed.
But for Lagat, even making the final was a historic achievement, let alone medaling. He just barely squeaked into the finals, finishing fifth in his heat and 17th overall in the first round with a time of 13:26.02.
“I don’t believe I’m old,” Lagat said in July after qualifying for the Olympics. “Because if you believe you’re old, [you’re] gonna run like an old man.”
Lagat’s running career accomplishments stretch back to the 20th century. In 1999, he became the NCAA Outdoor 5,000-meter champion with a time of 14:01.09, almost a minute longer than his time on Saturday. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, he won the bronze medal in the 1,500-meter race as a member of the Kenyan national team. In 2004, the same year he became a U.S. citizen, he won silver in the 1,500-meter at the Summer Olympics in Athens. Then, at the 2012 Olympics in London, Lagat placed fourth in the 5,000-meter.
“I always thought that 2012 would be my last one,” Lagat said earlier this week. “But here I am and I’m enjoying doing it right now.”
This post has been updated to reflect that Paul Chelimo successfully appealed his disqualification, pushing Lagat off the medal stand.
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